Latest releases reviewed

GRINDERMAN
Grinderman
Mute
****

Not content with being The Bad Seeds' fire & brimstone frontman, the daddy of Southern gothic slinks towards middle age with a new band of familiar faces, including Martin Casey, Jim Schlavunos and Warren Ellis (also of The Dirty Three). Dad-rock this ain't. Stepping outside The Bad Seeds comfort zone, Nick Cave & co have discovered two things: a Viagra-like energy that would put bands half their age to shame, and a sense of humour (there's talk of combovers and beer guts). Musically, it's noisily chaotic in the way The Birthday Party were, but this tends towards swampy blues and raw rock that bristles and spits. Cases in point are odes to mysterious women called Depth Charge Ethel and Electric Alice; trashy anthems such as singles Get It On and No Pussy Blues; and a niggling feeling that Grinderman, whoever he is, is the cheap, nasty bastard son of rock and blues. www.mute.com - Sinéad Gleeson

ONO
Yes, I'm a Witch
Astralwerks/Parlophone
****

That it has taken until now for this much maligned artist's back-catalogue to be reworked and reappraised says everything about how non-musical details have dictated and distorted the Yoko Ono narrative. But having allowed a selection of artists (including The Flaming Lips, Peaches and Craig Armstrong) to root around in her back pages and recast the songs and her vocals as they see fit, Yes, I'm a Witch may reposition Ono as an avant-garde composer with a fine line in radical modernism. There are some sterling redrafts here, most notably a positively riot-girl rerub of Sisters O Sisters by Le Tigre, Jason Pierce's wonderfully droning white noise reinvention of Walking on Thin Ice, and Antony Hegarty's plaintive Toyboat. It's DJ Spooky, however, who wins this raffle: his take on Rising puts Ono's warble in the middle of a spellbinding wash of ambient sounds and waves. www.astralwerks.com/ono - Jim Carroll

BRYAN FERRY
Dylanesque
Virgin
***

Ever since his hit version of A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall in 1973, the Roxy Music leader has wanted to do an entire album of Dylan covers. When he finally got round to it, he knocked them off in just a week, and the immediacy is apparent on these 11 tunes, narrowed down from 20. These are not arch, Virginia Plain-style reworkings of Dylan's back pages, but a smoky set of tunes handled with restraint and sophistication by an avowed connoisseur of The Bob. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues sets a classic-rock tone, Ferry's harmonica jumping to the front of the mix, and The Times They Are a-Changin', All I Really Want to Do and If Not for You (this last featuring Eno's sonic treatments) are tastefully interpreted with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. Knockin' on Heaven's Door and All Along the Watchtower bow gracefully to better-known versions, but Positively 4th Street is a quietly triumphant reading. Every old rocker is hitting the old songbooks in search of new hits, but at least you know Ferry is doing it out of love. www.bryanferry.com - Kevin Courtney

VARIOUS
Southern Fried 2
Prime Time
***

Naturally, much has changed in the southern capital's firmament since the first Southern Fried compilation blew this way a couple of years ago to give a state of the musical nation address. While the first album pulled its 14 tracks from the dancefloor (or near it), Southern Fried 2 is a multiheaded beast. There are various shades of indie, there are singer-songwriter-isms, and there are to Cork-based musicians from the Congo and Poland. Of course, quality control is an issue, given such eclecticism and the fact that there are now 36 tracks spread over two CDs. But there is certainly enough good stuff to warrant a listen. Highlights include the haunting blues of Michelle Brennan, the cheeky hip-hop of Sounds from the Hot Press, the punchy pizzazz of Queen Kong, the heady swagger of Cartoon and QuestionMarq's slinky, soulful groove.

www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/southernfried  - Jim Carroll